SIN AL-FIL, Lebanon: A year after record tourism levels, Lebanon’s list of ways to upgrade the sector appears to be as long as ever, according to speakers at the Summer of Lebanon Forum 2010 on Wednesday.
Around 2.4 million visited the country in 2009, and at least a million have arrived so far this year, Tourism Minister Fadi Abboud told some 200 officials and businessmen gathered at the Habtoor Grand Hotel.
The year 2010 has seen a 26 percent rise in tourism during its first six months, with 964,067 people arriving in Lebanon compared to 761,041 over the same period in 2000, he said.
Abboud encouraged the participants of the forum, organized by Al-Iktissad Wal-Aamal group, to invest in Lebanon, drawing attention to ideas such as establishing rest houses at the country’s border crossings, a maritime taxi service, and the benefits of MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) tourism, to attract corporate visitors.
Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah, the deputy premier and energy minister of Qatar, advised Lebanon to boost its attention to turning short-term tourists into long-term and repeat visitors, but complained that the tourism sector continues to lack a clear central “authority,” in the form of a robust Tourism Ministry.
Attiyah also cited common complaints about problems with electricity, water and the roads, which were highlighted last summer and have yet to be alleviated, as various ministries, such as energy, transport and the interior, have jurisdiction over these sectors.
Attiyah called for political stability and good relations among politicians. “Let them have mercy on us,” he said.
A session on moving from “seasonal to sustainable” tourism was an occasion to hear a long list of suggestions for initiatives that remain unfulfilled.
Pierre Achkar, head of the Federation of Tourist Unions in Lebanon, praised various aspects of Lebanon’s tourist and other attractions, but noted the need to see areas outside Beirut receive more visitors, and to pay more attention to attracting people during the ten months of the year that aren’t July or August.
Achkar pitched the idea of establishing branches of Casino du Liban in five-star hotels, to create a “Vegas of the East,” and stressed the need for an efficient, country-wide network of highways.
Achkar also encouraged Middle East Airlines (MEA) to offer discounts to visitors if they stay outside the capital.
Nasser al-Nowais, the chairman of the UAE’s Rotana Group, encouraged Lebanese tour operators and establishments to “keep prices in check,” and offer good value for money, to promote long-term relationships with tourists.
Price-gouging and taking advantage of tourists surfaced as regular complaints during last year’s record season, but the infrastructure to deal with such incidents hasn’t been developed during the off-season.
Nowais said that the recent financial crisis in Dubai was weathered because the UAE had “the roads, water, electricity and fundamental infrastructure” to recover.
Abboud, who was moderating the session, agreed and said Lebanon lacked a sufficient number of mid-range, three-to-four-star hotels.
Ghassan Aridi, the CEO of the UAE’s Alpha Tours, played down fears that MEA would lose out if it instituted an open skies policy, citing Emirates Airlines as a success story.
He said Lebanon was missing out on an opportunity to capitalize on the promising field of medical tourism, which has made great strides in countries like Jordan and Thailand.
Other items on the list of things to do for Lebanon include efforts to enhance the status of summer festivals, to attract more celebrity visitors, and sports tourism.
Aridi cited the example of Turkish television dramas, which in recent years have gained a huge following in the Arab world and encouraged people to visit that country.
Amin Moukarzel, a UAE-based hotel executive, spoke about areas where work was needed: enhancing infrastructure, promoting tourism for people with mid-level budgets, encouraging the activity of budget airlines, and developing the package tour sub-sector.